Vandals have crashed a £30,000 digger into a portable cabin and jeopardised a major sporting event.
Farmer Lindsay Paterson had stored the vehicle at a motocross track on his land, used for fortnightly meetings by Strathmore MotoX Club.
Having used the machine to undertake work on the track, he returned on Thursday morning and was horrified to find it embedded in the shack.
Police forensic officers have visited the site to look for clues which could lead them to the culprit but Mr Paterson said he is offering a £1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.
The 48-year-old said he was unsure if the vandals had found the vehicle’s key or had a similar one with them.
He said: “I’m really angry. It’s malicious. I had a digger up to do work on the track two or three days ago. It was sitting at the track.
“I came up this morning to move it to somewhere else and found that someone had broken in, got it started and driven it through the side of the hut where the first aid and signing-on is done. They’ve just demolished it.
“The key was hidden and I’m not sure if they’ve managed to find it or if they’ve brought a key along the keys in these plant vehicles all seem to be the same. I haven’t been into the digger to see if the keys are still there.”
He added that the damage has put an upcoming meeting of the MotoX club in doubt, as safety requirements mean there must be a place to provide emergency treatment.
“It’s a pity for all the youngsters who were hoping to use the facility,” he said.
“They meet once a fortnight and it’s due to be used this Sunday. It’s possibly going to have to be cancelled. We have to have a first aid post to be operational.”
He said the incident would have financial implications for both his farming and drainage companies.
“We’ve lost a day today. We were due to take it to another job and we are at a standstill until we can shift this digger, so it’s affecting my business.
“We don’t know if the digger is damaged yet because we haven’t taken it out of the cabin.
“We are waiting for the police, to see if there are any prints. If it is damaged then there is more cost, it’s worth around £30,000. To replace the cabin will be another £3,000 to £4,000. If we can get a conviction, I’ll put £1,000 up.”